Installing virtual machines within different communication pathways to access protected resources

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product controls access to computer resources used by a computer application. One or more processors fractionate a computer application into disparate components. Two or more of the disparate components are assigned to different communication pathways, where the different communication pathways lead to requisite resources needed to execute the disparate components. One or more processors create and install a virtual machine within at least one of the different communication pathways, such that the virtual machine controls access to a particular requisite resource by a particular disparate component. One or more processors then issue a resource retrieval instruction to retrieve the particular requisite resource via the virtual machine and at least one of the different communication pathways.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to the field of computers, andspecifically to the field of computers that are networked to computerresources. Still more specifically, the present disclosure relates tothe field of controlling and protecting access to computer resourcesthat are used by a computer application.

Computer networks are becoming more and more widespread. Rather thansimply connecting computers together locally, computer networks nowconnect resources over large areas, using the Internet, the “Cloud”(which provides access to software and hardware resources to a user viaa wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet), as well as dedicatedenterprise-wide WANs. However, placing such resources on a computernetwork exposes them to exposure to malevolence, such as unauthorizedaccess, use, and/or damage to such resources, particularly as access tothese types of resources become easier and easier at the hand ofsophisticated hackers and other malicious actors.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented methodcontrols access to computer resources used by a computer application.One or more processors fractionate a computer application into disparatecomponents. The processor(s) assign two or more of the disparatecomponents to different communication pathways that lead to requisiteresources needed to execute the disparate components. The processor(s)create a virtual machine that controls access to a particular requisiteresource by a particular disparate component, where the particulardisparate component further comprises a command layer instruction. Theprocessor(s) install the virtual machine within at least one of thedifferent communication pathways to control access to the particularrequisite resource by the particular disparate component. Theprocessor(s) transmit a resource retrieval instruction to retrieve theparticular requisite resource via the virtual machine and the at leastone of the different communication pathways. The processor(s) installmultiple virtual machines in series within at least one of the differentcommunication pathways, wherein the multiple virtual machines comprise afirst virtual machine and a second virtual machine. The processor(s)assign a first address message to the first virtual machine, where thefirst address message identifies only an address of the second virtualmachine, and where the first address message instructs the first virtualmachine to send the resource retrieval instruction to the second virtualmachine. The processor(s) assign a second address message to the secondvirtual machine, where the second address message identifies only anaddress of the particular requisite resource, and where the secondaddress message instructs the second virtual machine to send theresource retrieval instruction to the particular requisite resource. Theprocessor(s) fractionate the command layer instruction into disparatecommand layer components, and assign a first disparate command layercomponent from the disparate command layer components to the firstvirtual machine. The processor(s) execute the first disparate commandlayer component to create a command virtual machine, and control thefirst virtual machine via the command virtual machine.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product isexecutable by a computer system to control access to computer resourcesused by a computer application by the following method. A computerapplication is fractionated into disparate components. Two or more ofthe disparate components are assigned to different communicationpathways that lead to requisite resources needed to execute thedisparate components. A virtual machine is created. The virtual machinecontrols access to a particular requisite resource by a particulardisparate component. The virtual machine is installed within at leastone of the different communication pathways to control access to theparticular requisite resource by the particular disparate component. Aresource retrieval instruction is transmitted to retrieve the particularrequisite resource via the virtual machine and the at least one of thedifferent communication pathways. A threat level is defined for theparticular requisite resource, and a quantity of virtual machinesbetween the computer application and the particular requisite resourceis adjusted according to the threat level for the particular requisiteresource.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary system and network in which the presentdisclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an overview of a use of virtual machines to protectrequisite resources used to execute disparate components in anapplication that is running on a user's computer in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts the use of serially-linked virtual machines to protect arequisite resource used by an application in a user's computer;

FIG. 4 is a high-level flow chart of one or more steps performed by oneor more processors to protect requisite resources used to executedisparate components in an application running in a user's computer;

FIG. 5 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

With reference now to the figures, and in particular to FIG. 1, there isdepicted a block diagram of an exemplary system and network that may beutilized by and/or in the implementation of the present invention. Someor all of the exemplary architecture, including both depicted hardwareand software, shown for and within computer 102 may be utilized bysoftware deploying server 150 shown in FIG. 1, and/or user's computer202, resource server 204, management computer 206, one or more of therequisite resources 208 a-208 c, and/or the virtual machine supportcomputer 216 depicted in FIG. 2; as well as the management computer 306and/or the virtual machine support computer 316 shown in FIG. 3.

Exemplary computer 102 includes a processor 104 that is coupled to asystem bus 106. Processor 104 may utilize one or more processors, eachof which has one or more processor cores. A video adapter 108, whichdrives/supports a display 110, is also coupled to system bus 106. Systembus 106 is coupled via a bus bridge 112 to an input/output (I/O) bus114. An I/O interface 116 is coupled to I/O bus 114. I/O interface 116affords communication with various I/O devices, including a keyboard118, a mouse 120, a media tray 122 (which may include storage devicessuch as CD-ROM drives, multi-media interfaces, etc.), and external USBport(s) 126. While the format of the ports connected to I/O interface116 may be any known to those skilled in the art of computerarchitecture, in one embodiment some or all of these ports are universalserial bus (USB) ports.

As depicted, computer 102 is able to communicate with a softwaredeploying server 150 and/or other devices/systems (e.g., user's computer202, resource server 204, management computer 206, and/or one or more ofthe requisite resources 208 a-208 c depicted in FIG. 2) using a networkinterface 130. Network interface 130 is a hardware network interface,such as a network interface card (NIC), etc. Network 128 may be anexternal network such as the Internet, or an internal network such as anEthernet or a virtual private network (VPN). In one or more embodiments,network 128 is a wireless network, such as a Wi-Fi network.

A hard drive interface 132 is also coupled to system bus 106. Hard driveinterface 132 interfaces with a hard drive 134. In one embodiment, harddrive 134 populates a system memory 136, which is also coupled to systembus 106. System memory is defined as a lowest level of volatile memoryin computer 102. This volatile memory includes additional higher levelsof volatile memory (not shown), including, but not limited to, cachememory, registers and buffers. Data that populates system memory 136includes computer 102's operating system (OS) 138 and applicationprograms 144.

OS 138 includes a shell 140, for providing transparent user access toresources such as application programs 144. Generally, shell 140 is aprogram that provides an interpreter and an interface between the userand the operating system. More specifically, shell 140 executes commandsthat are entered into a command line user interface or from a file.Thus, shell 140, also called a command processor, is generally thehighest level of the operating system software hierarchy and serves as acommand interpreter. The shell provides a system prompt, interpretscommands entered by keyboard, mouse, or other user input media, andsends the interpreted command(s) to the appropriate lower levels of theoperating system (e.g., a kernel 142) for processing. While shell 140 isa text-based, line-oriented user interface, the present invention willequally well support other user interface modes, such as graphical,voice, gestural, etc.

As depicted, OS 138 also includes kernel 142, which includes lowerlevels of functionality for OS 138, including providing essentialservices required by other parts of OS 138 and application programs 144,including memory management, process and task management, diskmanagement, and mouse and keyboard management.

Application programs 144 include a renderer, shown in exemplary manneras a browser 146. Browser 146 includes program modules and instructionsenabling a world wide web (WWW) client (i.e., computer 102) to send andreceive network messages to the Internet using hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP) messaging, thus enabling communication with softwaredeploying server 150 and other systems.

Application programs 144 in computer 102's system memory (as well assoftware deploying server 150's system memory) also include ComputerResources Protection Logic (CRPL) 148. CRPL 148 includes code forimplementing the processes described below, including those described inFIGS. 2-4. In one embodiment, computer 102 is able to download CRPL 148from software deploying server 150, including in an on-demand basis,wherein the code in CRPL 148 is not downloaded until needed forexecution. In one embodiment of the present invention, softwaredeploying server 150 performs all of the functions associated with thepresent invention (including execution of CRPL 148), thus freeingcomputer 102 from having to use its own internal computing resources toexecute CRPL 148.

The hardware elements depicted in computer 102 are not intended to beexhaustive, but rather are representative to highlight essentialcomponents required by the present invention. For instance, computer 102may include alternate memory storage devices such as magnetic cassettes,digital versatile disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, and the like.These and other variations are intended to be within the spirit andscope of the present invention.

With reference now to FIG. 2, an overview of a use of virtual machinesto protect requisite resources used to execute disparate components inan application that is running on a user's computer in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention is presented.

As shown in FIG. 2, an application 210 is installed on a user's computer202. As described herein, the application 210 is fractionated intomultiple components, depicted as disparate components 212 a-212 c (where“c” is an integer). Used herein, the term “fractionate” is defined asseparating a software application into various components, thus definingthese various components.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or moreprocessors fractionate the application 210. Such processors fractionatethe application 210 into disparate components having similar functionsor different functions.

For example, consider the embodiment in which processors fractionate theapplication 210 into components that have similar functions. An exampleof this embodiment may be fractionating different areas of a graphicaluser interface (GUI), regardless of what the areas represent. Forexample, the GUI may depict a website containing various photos. Theprocessors will identify the different photos (e.g., by examining thehyptertext markup language—HTML code that produced the different photos)as being disparate components of the GUI (even though they have thesimilar function of displaying photos on the GUI). However, theprocessors can further extract metadata about each of the photos todetermine what level of sensitivity they hold, which photos arecopyright protected, etc., thus allowing the present invention to adjustaccess to any requisite resources needed to display, enhance, etc. thephotos.

In an embodiment in which the disparate components of the application210 has different functions, consider the example of an applicationthat 1) displays content on a GUI, 2) receives data inputs, 3) encryptscontent in the application, 4) determines where resources are located,etc. The processors are able to examine the code in the application 210(e.g., by reading non-executable comments in the source code) toidentify the functions of various sub-components (disparate components)of the application 210. Each of these sub-components can then be handledin a different manner. For example, code used to display content on theGUI may not need to have a protective virtual machine (e.g., one or moreof the virtual machines 214 a-214 c described herein), while code usedto retrieve protected data may utilize additional security (e.g., seeFIG. 3 below).

Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, each of the disparatecomponents 212 a-212 c is similar in functionality. However, in apreferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the disparatecomponents 212 a-212 c has different functionalities.

For example, disparate component 212 a may be code that generates agraphical user interface (GUI) being displayed on a display (e.g.,display 110 shown in FIG. 1) on the user's computer 202, while disparatecomponent 212 b may be code that receives keystroke inputs (e.g., fromthe keyboard 118 shown in FIG. 1), while disparate component 212 c maybe code that enables network communication (e.g., via the network 128shown in FIG. 1) between the user's computer 202 and the resource server204 (e.g., by defining IP ports to be used in the networkcommunication).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is no directcommunication going from the user's computer 202 to the resource server204. That is, all communications from the disparate components 212 a-212c of application 210 are via the depicted virtual machines 214 a-214 c(where “c” is an integer).

Virtual machines 214 a-214 c are software-based emulations of a physicalcomputer (e.g., virtual machine support computer 216 shown in FIG. 2).These software-based emulations run on a physical computer, but are notthe physical computer itself. As such, a single physical computer canrun emulations of different types of computer architecture, whichemulate running on the same or different types of operating systems.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the virtualmachines 214 a-214 c are hidden from the user and/or entities that areprying into the operations of the user's computer 202, as described indetail below.

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, there is no directcommunication from the resource server 204 back to the user's computer202. That is, even though FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the presentinvention in which the requisite resources 208 a-208 c (where “c” is aninteger) are transmitted directly back to the disparate components 212a-212 c, in a preferred embodiments the requisite resources 208 a-208 care transmitted back to the disparate components 212 a-212 c via thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c.

Creation of Virtual Machines

Virtual machines 214 a-214 c may be created by user's computer 202and/or by management computer 206 and/or by a combination of virtualmachines 214 a-214 c and management computer 206.

In one embodiment in which the virtual machines 214 a-214 c are createdby user's computer 202, instructions for creating the virtual machines214 a-214 c are located in a command layer of a request (e.g., resourceretrieval instruction 205) to retrieve one or more of the requisiteresources 208 a.

Use of Virtual Machines to Access Needed Resources

Assume now that disparate component 212 a shown in FIG. 2 needsrequisite resource 208 a in order to execute or otherwise function.

User's computer 202 sends a resource retrieval instruction (e.g.,resource retrieval instruction 205) that is addressed to a virtualmachine support computer 216 (rather than resource server 204 thatactually contains the needed requisite resource 208 a being called uponby the resource retrieval instruction 205 on behalf of disparatecomponent 212 a). The virtual machine support computer 216 responds tothe resource retrieval instruction 205 by calling up or creating avirtual machine (e.g., virtual machine 214 a), which will handle theresource retrieval instruction 205. The receiving virtual machine 214 athen communicates with the resource server 204 to retrieve the requestedrequisite resource 208 a, such that there is no direct communicationfrom the user's computer 202 to the resource server 204.

In one embodiment, the virtual machine support computer 216 locates theaddress of the requisite resource 208 a needed by the disparatecomponent 212 a by extracting (preferably encrypted) information from acommand layer in the resource retrieval instruction 205. This encryptedinformation (which is decrypted by a decryption key held by the virtualmachine support computer 216) may be a first element of a dyad in alookup table stored in the virtual machine support computer 216. Thatis, the command layer in the resource retrieval instruction 205 mayidentify the resource needed by disparate component 212 a as simply “X”.Stored within the virtual machine support computer 216 is a lookup table(not depicted), which matches “X” to the address of requisite resource208 a. Without having access to this lookup table (which is protectedwithin the virtual machine support computer 216 by encryption, afirewall, etc.), a sniffer is unable to know which requisite resource“X” is being requested by disparate component 212 a.

In one embodiment of the present invention, resource retrievalinstruction 205 is addressed to resource server 204. However, resourceretrieval instruction 205 is intercepted by virtual machine supportcomputer 216, which reads the command layer in resource retrievalinstruction 205, directing the virtual machine support computer 216 togenerate the virtual machine 214 a needed to access the requisiteresource 208 a, which has been trained (i.e., has network port code thatcontrols incoming messages) to ignore any requests that do not come froma virtual machine within virtual machine support computer 216.

The virtual machine support computer 216 then uses an IP address orother communication port of the newly created virtual machine 214 a tocommunicate with the requisite resource 208 a in order to start asession. This address/port is dynamically created and concealed from theuser's computer, such that the user's computer 202 does not know whichaddress/port is being used to access the requisite resource 208 a. Inone embodiment, the virtual machine support computer 216 also directsthe resource server 204 to generate a new address/port for by therequisite resource 208 a and returning that new address/port to thevirtual machine support computer 216, thus providing an additional layerof security between the virtual machine support computer 216 and theresource server 204.

The requisite resources 208 a-208 c are hardware and/or softwareresources that are required by the disparate components 212 a-212 c fortheir execution. This dependency may be one-to-one (e.g., whererequisite resource 208 a is required by only disparate component 212 aas depicted), one-to-many (e.g., where requisite resources 208 a-208 bare both required by disparate component 212 a), or many-to-one (e.g.,where disparate components 212 a-212 b both need requisite resource 208a).

In one embodiment of the present invention, a management computer 206 asdescribed above creates the virtual machines 214 a-214 c and/or assignsnetwork addresses to the virtual machines 214 a-214 c and/or therequisite resources 208 a-208 c described above. For example, assumethat the management computer 206 intercepts a request from disparatecomponent 212 a for requisite resource 208 a. In response tointercepting this request, the management computer 206 will direct thevirtual machine support computer 216 to create virtual machine 214 a,thus providing the pathway needed to access the requisite resource 208a.

As indicated above, the requisite resources 208 a-208 c may be hardware,software, and/or a combination thereof. For example, assume thatapplication 210 is a bookkeeping program. Assume further that disparatecomponent 212 a is code for loading data into the bookkeeping program.The data that is to be loaded into the bookkeeping program is stored onresource server 204 in a database depicted as requisite resource 208 a.This database is required by the disparate component 212 a, and thus isknown as the “requisite” resource 208 a.

Similarly and continuing with the example of application 210 being abookkeeping program, assume that disparate component 212 b is the codein the application 210 that generated a graphical user interface (GUI)being displayed on the user's computer when executing the bookkeepingprogram. Requisite resource 208 b may be a GUI template that is used bythe application 210 and is available from the resource server 204.

As stated above, a requisite resource may be hardware. For example,assume that disparate component 212 c is a subroutine that requires moreprocessing power to retrieve and analyze data used by the application210 than is available from the user's computer 202 (e.g., if the user'scomputer 202 is a smart phone with limited processing power). As such,the disparate component 212 c needs the processing power provided by acomputer depicted as requisite resource 208 c. In this case, theresource server 204 may allocate some of its own processing resources tofunction as requisite resource 208 c, or resource server 204 may be acloud service and/or a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that leasesout computer time from other computing devices (which are represented byrequisite resource 208 c).

Regardless of whether some or all of the requisite resources 208 a-208 care software or hardware, in a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the virtual machines 214 a-214 c provide a protective layerbetween the application 210 (and its disparate components 212 a-212 c)and the resource server 204 (and the requisite resources 208 a-208 cthat it provides). In accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent invention, virtual machines 214 a-214 c are dynamic, theirplacement is variable, their lifetimes are transient, and/or are hiddenfrom the user of user's computer 202 and/or any logic that “sniffs” theuser's computer.

Dynamic Virtual Machines

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or more of thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c are generated in response to adetermination that one or more of the disparate components 212 a-212 cneeds a particular resource from the requisite resources 208 a-208 c.For example, assume that application 210 is executing on the user'scomputer 202, but disparate component 212 a is not currentlyneeded/executing. As such, virtual machine 214 a has not been createdyet, since there is no need for requisite resource 208 a. However, oncea determination is made that disparate component 212 a is executing (oris about to execute), the virtual machine 214 a will be generated. Forexample, if a component of application 210 calls disparate component 212a, then the user's computer 202 will determine/know that requisiteresource 208 a will be needed, and thus virtual machine 214 a iscreated.

Variable Placement of Virtual Machines

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or more of thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c can be placed in a different logicallocation every time it is created. For example, when the user's computer202 and/or the management computer 206 generate virtual machine 214 a,virtual machine 214 a may be accessed via a particular port (i.e., asoftware construct that acts as a communications endpoint, such as an IPport address). If the virtual machine 214 a is always addressed at thesame port on the host (physical) computer (i.e., virtual machine supportcomputer 316), then it is easier to hack into than if it is located at adifferent port every time it is created. Thus, in a preferred embodimentthe virtual machines 214 a-214 c are variably placed at differentlogical locations.

Transient Virtual Machines

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or more of thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c have a limited lifetime, and thus aretransient. That is, assume that virtual machine 214 a in FIG. 2 has beencreated. Once virtual machine 214 a is created, it is not permanent, butrather will be deconstructed (dematerialized) after some amount of timeor after some event. For example, virtual machine 214 a may be set toexpire (“vanish”) after 5 minutes (“some amount of time”). However, in apreferred embodiment, the virtual machine 214 a will be dematerializedafter certain events. For example, assume that disparate component 212 ais sending structured query language (SQL) messages to requisiteresource 208 a, which is a relational database management system(RDBMS). Each SQL message contains a request for specific data from theRDBMS. Depending on how secure the system should be, a new virtualmachine 214 a will be generated to handle every SQL message from thedisparate component 212 a, or else will be generated to handle a certainnumber of SQL messages (e.g., 20) from the disparate component 212 a.

Similarly, the virtual machine 214 a may be “alive” as long as thedisparate component 212 a is executing. However, once the disparatecomponent 212 a stops running (e.g., is in a time-out, a stall, or acall to the disparate component 212 a from another component inapplication 210 is completed) then the virtual machine 214 a will bedismantled.

Hidden Virtual Machines

In one or more embodiments of the present invention, one or more of thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c are hidden. That is, one or more of thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c may be hidden from a user of user'scomputer 202 and/or from a “sniffer” of the user's computer 202. Thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c are hidden since they are dynamicallycreated by the virtual machine support computer 316, which is the onlydevice that knows their address and features (unless management computer306 is also involved to this extent).

By being hidden from the user of user's computer 202, the user isunaware of the existence of virtual machines 214 a-214 c. That is, theuser merely sees the requisite resources 208 a-208 c being returned tothe user's computer 202, without being able to see the virtual machines214 a-214 c. Thus, all creation and use of the virtual machines 214a-214 c are performed by software within the virtual machine supportcomputer 216 and/or management computer 206.

Similarly, the existence of the virtual machines 214 a-214 c may behidden from sniffers. A “sniffer” is defined as a computer program thatmonitors traffic going to and from a computer such as the user'scomputer 202. If the user's computer 202 creates the virtual machines214 a-214 c using the command layer described above, then a snifferoperating against the user's computer 202 will not be able to determinethe identity or location of the virtual machines 214 a-214 c, sincethese identities/locations are dynamically determined at the virtualmachine support computer 216. Similarly, if the virtual machines 214a-214 c are created by the management computer 206 as described above,then a sniffer will not be able to determine the identity or location ofthe virtual machines 214 a-214 c, since these identities/locations aredynamically determined at the virtual machine support computer 216 underthe direction of the management computer 206, whose location and/oridentity will be unknown to the sniffer that monitors traffic to andfrom the user's computer 202.

While the system and method shown in FIG. 2 provides a high level ofprotection for the requisite resources 208 a-208 c, the system andmethod shown in FIG. 3 provides even greater protection through the useof serially linked virtual machines.

As shown in FIG. 3, assume that disparate component 212 a has issued(i.e., transmitted) a resource retrieval instruction 305 requestingaccess to requisite resource 208 a (as described above in FIG. 2 withreference to resource retrieval instruction 205). As in FIG. 2, theresource retrieval instruction 305 is intercepted by a virtual machinesupport computer 316, which supports multiple virtual machines 314 a-314c (where “c” is an integer). Each of the virtual machines 314 a-314 c isunder the control of a management computer 306, which not only managesthe creation of the virtual machines 314 a-314 c, but also manages themovement of the resource retrieval instruction 305 through the chain ofvirtual machines 314 a-314 c.

That is, when resource retrieval instruction 305 is sent to resourceserver 204 for retrieval of requisite resource 208 a, virtual machinesupport computer 316 intercepts resource retrieval instruction 305. Inone embodiment of the present invention, the resource server 204realizes that it is only able to respond to requests from virtualmachine support computer 316 due to settings in its incoming messageport(s). Thus, the resource retrieval instruction 305 is sent directlyto the virtual machine support computer 316, or else it is sent to themanagement computer 306 known to be associated with the virtual machinesupport computer 316.

In either embodiment (i.e., regardless of whether the resource retrievalinstruction 305 is sent from the resource server 204 directly to thevirtual machine support computer 316 or to the management computer 306),the resource retrieval instruction 305 is initially sent to virtualmachine 314 a for processing. Virtual machine 314 a is then instructedby management computer 306 to send the resource retrieval instruction305 to virtual machine 314 b. In one or more embodiments of the presentinvention, virtual machine 314 b is not created (by management computer306 and/or virtual machine support computer 316) until managementcomputer 306 and/or virtual machine support computer 316 directs virtualmachine 314 a to send the resource retrieval instruction 305 to a nextvirtual machine. Thus, an outside sniffer/snooper is unable to predictbeforehand where the resource retrieval instruction 305 will go next,since the next destination has not even been created yet.

Once the virtual machine 314 b is created, then the management computer306 gives virtual machine 314 a only the address (e.g., an IP address, aport number, a media access control (MAC) address, etc.) of virtualmachine 314 b along with instructions to forward/send the resourceretrieval instruction 305 to virtual machine 314 b. In response tovirtual machine 314 b receiving the resource retrieval instruction 305,management computer 306 creates virtual machine 314 c, and gives virtualmachine 314 b only the address of virtual machine 314 c along withinstructions to forward the resource retrieval instruction 305 tovirtual machine 314 c.

The management computer 306 then directs virtual machine 314 c to sendthe resource retrieval instruction 305 to resource server 204, whichretrieves the requested requisite resource 208 a. At this point, themanagement computer 306 can direct the resource server 204 to send therequisite resource 208 a directly back to the disparate component 212 a(as illustrated in FIG. 3), or else the management computer 306 candirect the resource server 204 to send the requisite resource 208 a backthrough one or more of the virtual machines 314 a-314 c, all under thecreation and management of management computer 306 as described abovewhen sending the resource retrieval instruction 305 to the resourceserver 204.

With reference now to FIG. 4, a high-level flow chart of one or moresteps performed by one or more processors to protect requisite resourcesused to execute disparate components in an application running in auser's computer is presented.

After initiator block 402, one or more processors fractionate a computerapplication into disparate components (i.e., divide the computerapplication into different components, which may have similar ordifferent types of functionalities), as described in block 404. Thus, asdescribed in the example shown in FIG. 2, an application 210 isfractionated into disparate components 212 a-212 c.

As described in block 406 in FIG. 4, one or more processors assign twoor more of the disparate components to different communication pathways,wherein the different communication pathways lead to requisite resourcesneeded to execute the disparate components. With reference again to theexample shown in FIG. 2, disparate component 212 a is assigned to usethe top pathway to requisite resource 208 a, while disparate component212 b is assigned to use the middle pathway to requisite resource 208 b,and disparate component 212 c is assigned to use the lower pathway torequisite resource 208 c.

As described in block 408 in FIG. 4, one or more processors (e.g.,within the virtual machine support computer 216 and/or the managementcomputer 206 shown in FIG. 2) create and install a virtual machine(e.g., virtual machine 214 a) within at least one of the differentcommunication pathways, wherein the virtual machine controls access to aparticular requisite resource by a particular disparate component, asdescribed above.

As described in block 410 of FIG. 4, one or more processors (e.g.,within user's computer 202 shown in FIG. 2) then issue (i.e., transmit)a resource retrieval instruction to retrieve the particular requisiteresource via the virtual machine (e.g., virtual machine 214 a) and atleast one of the different communication pathways (e.g., going fromdisparate component 212 a to requisite resource 208 a).

The flow-chart of FIG. 4 ends at terminator block 412.

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within management computer 206, virtual machine support computer216, and/or user's computer 202 shown in FIG. 2) then retrieve theparticular requisite resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a), which isthen used by user's computer 202 to execute the particular disparatecomponent (e.g., disparate component 212 a).

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within the management computer 206 and/or the virtual machinesupport computer 216 shown in FIG. 2) set an expiration time for thevirtual machine within at least one of the different communicationpathways. In response to the expiration time passing for the virtualmachine within at least one of the different communication pathways,these one or more processors dematerialize (i.e., deconstruct, retire,disable, etc.) the virtual machine, such that dematerializing thevirtual machine disables at least one of the different communicationpathways. That is, in one or more embodiments of the present invention,the virtual machines 214 a-214 c are transient entities, having only alimited lifespan. This limited lifespan may be temporally controlled orevent controlled. That is, one or more of the virtual machines 214 a-214c shown in FIG. 3 may be set to expire five seconds after being created(temporally-controlled), or they may be designed to expire as soon asthey transmit the resource retrieval instruction 205 to the appropriaterequisite resource from requisite resources 208 a-208 c (eventcontrolled).

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within the management computer 306 and/or the virtual machinesupport computer 316 shown in FIG. 3) install multiple virtual machinesin series (e.g., virtual machines 314 a-314 c shown in FIG. 3) within atleast one of the different communication pathways, such that themultiple virtual machines comprise a first virtual machine (e.g.,virtual machine 314 b) and a second virtual machine (e.g., virtualmachine 314 c). Assuming that the resource retrieval instruction 305shown in FIG. 3 is initially received by virtual machine 314 b in FIG.3, then one or more processors (e.g., within management computer 306 inFIG. 3) then assigns a first address message to the first virtualmachine. This first address message identifies only an address/locationof the second virtual machine, and instructs the first virtual machineto send the resource retrieval instruction to the second virtualmachine. One or more processors (e.g., within management computer 306 inFIG. 3) also assign a second address message to the second virtualmachine. The second address message identifies only an address of theparticular requisite resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a as shownin FIG. 3), and instructs the second virtual machine to send theresource retrieval instruction to the particular requisite resource.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the control of one or moreof the virtual machines 314 a-314 c shown in FIG. 3 is further protectedby a command virtual machine 307 shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3,disparate component 212 a has a command layer instruction 303, which isused by the management computer 306 to create the command virtualmachine 307 used to manage virtual machine 314 b. One or more processors(e.g., within management computer 306 shown in FIG. 3) fractionate thecommand layer instruction 303 into disparate command layer components.The processor(s) assign a first disparate command layer component to thefirst virtual machine (e.g., virtual machine 314 b). The processor(s)then execute the first disparate command layer component to create thecommand virtual machine 307, which controls the first virtual machine314 b. Thus, additional protection is afforded the management computer306 and how it controls the virtual machines 314 a-314 c shown in FIG.3. This same process (i.e., generating a command virtual machine 307)can also be used to control singular virtual machines such as thevirtual machines 214 a-214 c shown in FIG. 2.

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processorsrestrict each of the different communication pathways such that each ofthe different communication pathways utilizes a different type ofcommunication pathway as compared with other communication pathways inthe different communication pathways. For example and as shown in FIG.2, the pathway leading from disparate component 212 a to virtual machine214 a to requisite resource 208 a may use an Internet Protocol (IP)pathway; while the pathway leading from disparate component 212 b torequisite resource 208 b may require the use of a different (non-IP)pathway such as a directly addressed message to a direct-access storagedevice (DASD), thus forgoing the use of the depicted intermediaryvirtual machine 214 b shown in FIG. 2; while the pathway leading fromdisparate component 212 c to virtual machine 214 c to requisite resource208 a may require the use of a token ring protocol (which uses neitherIP nor DASD protocols).

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within user's computer 202 shown in FIG. 2) issue (i.e.,transmit) dummy instructions on the different communication pathways.These dummy instructions utilize a same protocol as the resourceretrieval instruction 205, but they do not access the particularrequisite resource 208 a. That is, user's computer 202 not onlyissues/transmits the legitimate resourced retrieval instruction 205shown in FIG. 2, but also issues/transmits dummy instructions (notdepicted) to virtual machine support computer 216 and/or resource server204, which are addressed to non-existent resources (i.e., are sent toaddresses that do not exist or else are assigned to resource slots(e.g., databases) that are empty). In this embodiment, if a sniffertracks all of the dummy resource retrieval instructions, the snifferwill be following many false leads.

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within the virtual machine support computer 216 and/or themanagement computer 206 shown in FIG. 2) instantiate dummy communicationpathways, which do not access the particular requisite resource. Thatis, the resource retrieval instruction 205 may be sent to the virtualmachine support computer 216, which then creates multiple virtualmachines (e.g., virtual machines 214 a-214 c). However, unlike thearchitecture depicted in FIG. 2, virtual machine 214 b and virtualmachine 214 c lead to a dummy requisite resource, a honey pot (e.g., adatabase with fake data), or an infinite loop. Thus, if a hacker/snifferfollows the pathway used by virtual machine 214 b or virtual machine 214c (assuming that he/it is somehow able to break the security describedabove), then he/it will waste their time (if the dummy pathway leads touseless data) or else will be stuck in a loop or other piece ofsoftware/hardware that “captures” the hacker.

Defining and Responding to Threat Levels

In one embodiment of the present invention, one or more processors(e.g., within user's computer 202 and/or management computer 206 shownin FIG. 2) define a threat level for a particular requisite resource(e.g., requisite resource 208 a shown in FIG. 2) and/or for a particulardisparate component (e.g., disparate component 212 a shown in FIG. 2),and respond accordingly. The threat level may be determined based on amulti-dimensional threat matrix, in which one or more factors determinethe threat level.

For example, if a particular resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a)or a component of the application (e.g., disparate component 212 a) isbeing subjected to CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) activity that isbeyond a predefined level, then this indicates that theresource/component is susceptible to attack, since there is so much CRUDactivity going on.

Similarly, if a particular resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a) ora component of the application (e.g., disparate component 212 a) isknown to contain information that is sensitive (e.g., details of secretresearch and development that would harm an enterprise's operations ifmade public), then that particular resource or application is given ahigher threat level.

Similarly, if a particular resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a) ora component of the application (e.g., disparate component 212 a) isbeing used within an insecure location (e.g., outside of a radiofrequency (RF) shielded laboratory), then that particular resource orapplication is given a higher threat level than if it existed within asecure location.

Similarly, if a particular resource (e.g., requisite resource 208 a) ora component of the application (e.g., disparate component 212 a) isbeing used by a person whose profile indicates that he/she primarilyworks on secret projects, then any resource or application used by theperson is given a higher threat level than if it were used by someonewho does not have such a profile (e.g., one who works only onnon-sensitive/secret projects).

Based on the threat level derived (which may fluctuate up and down overtime and in response to various events), various steps can be taken.

In one embodiment of the present invention, features of the virtualmachine (e.g., virtual machine 214 a) are adjusted according to thethreat level for the particular requisite resource. For example, if thethreat level is above a certain predefined threshold, then creation ofvirtual machine 214 a can be handed off to management computer 206, thusproviding an additional layer of protection for both the virtual machine214 a as well as the requisite resource 208 a that is accessible by thevirtual machine 214.

In one embodiment of the present invention and based on the threat levelfor the particular requisite resource and/or a particular disparatecomponent, a quantity of virtual machines between the computerapplication and the particular requisite resource is adjusted. That is,rather than only having the three virtual machines 314 a-314 c in seriesas shown in FIG. 3, four or ten or a hundred virtual machines may becreated within the virtual machine support computer 316 (and/or othervirtual machine support computers—not depicted), thus providingadditional protection.

In one or more embodiments, the present invention is implemented in acloud environment. It is understood in advance that although thisdisclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing,implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to acloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the presentinvention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any othertype of computing environment now known or later developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 5, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 6 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 7, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 6) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 7 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents.

Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC (ReducedInstruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62; servers 63;blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks and networkingcomponents 66. In some embodiments, software components include networkapplication server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and computer resource protection processing96 (for protecting computer resources as described herein).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentinvention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of various embodiments of the present invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description, but is notintended to be exhaustive or limited to the present invention in theform disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope andspirit of the present invention. The embodiment was chosen and describedin order to best explain the principles of the present invention and thepractical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the artto understand the present invention for various embodiments with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Any methods described in the present disclosure may be implementedthrough the use of a VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language) programand a VHDL chip. VHDL is an exemplary design-entry language for FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), and other similar electronic devices. Thus, anysoftware-implemented method described herein may be emulated by ahardware-based VHDL program, which is then applied to a VHDL chip, suchas a FPGA.

Having thus described embodiments of the present invention of thepresent application in detail and by reference to illustrativeembodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of the presentinvention defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of controllingaccess to computer resources used by a computer application, thecomputer-implemented method comprising: fractionating, by one or moreprocessors, a computer application into disparate components; assigning,by one or more processors, two or more of the disparate components todifferent communication pathways, wherein the different communicationpathways lead to requisite resources needed to execute the disparatecomponents; creating, by one or more processors, a virtual machine,wherein the virtual machine controls access to a particular requisiteresource by a particular disparate component, and wherein the particulardisparate component comprises a command layer instruction; installing,by one or more processors, the virtual machine within at least one ofthe different communication pathways to control access to the particularrequisite resource by the particular disparate component; transmitting,by one or more processors, a resource retrieval instruction to retrievethe particular requisite resource via the virtual machine and the atleast one of the different communication pathways; installing, by one ormore processors, multiple virtual machines in series within at least oneof the different communication pathways, wherein the multiple virtualmachines comprise a first virtual machine and a second virtual machine;assigning, by one or more processors, a first address message to thefirst virtual machine, wherein the first address message identifies onlyan address of the second virtual machine, and wherein the first addressmessage instructs the first virtual machine to send the resourceretrieval instruction to the second virtual machine; assigning, by oneor more processors, a second address message to the second virtualmachine, wherein the second address message identifies only an addressof the particular requisite resource, and wherein the second addressmessage instructs the second virtual machine to send the resourceretrieval instruction to the particular requisite resource;fractionating, by one or more processors, the command layer instructioninto disparate command layer components; assigning, by one or moreprocessors, a first disparate command layer component from the disparatecommand layer components to the first virtual machine; executing, by oneor more processors, the first disparate command layer component tocreate a command virtual machine; and controlling, by one or moreprocessors, the first virtual machine via the command virtual machine.2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:retrieving, by one or more processors, the particular requisiteresource; and using, by one or more processors, the particular requisiteresource to execute the particular disparate component.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: setting, byone or more processors, an expiration time for the virtual machinewithin the at least one of the different communication pathways; and inresponse to the expiration time passing for the virtual machine withinthe at least one of the different communication pathways,dematerializing, by one or more processors, the virtual machine, whereindematerializing the virtual machine disables the at least one of thedifferent communication pathways.
 4. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: restricting, by one or more processors,each of the different communication pathways such that each of thedifferent communication pathways utilizes a different type ofcommunication pathway as compared with other communication pathways inthe different communication pathways.
 5. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising: instantiating, by one or moreprocessors, dummy communication pathways, wherein the dummycommunication pathways do not access the particular requisite resource.6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:defining, by one or more processors, a threat level for the particularrequisite resource; and adjusting, by one or more processors, featuresof the virtual machine according to the threat level for the particularrequisite resource.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: defining, by one or more processors, a threat levelfor the particular requisite resource; and adjusting, by one or moreprocessors, a quantity of virtual machines between the computerapplication and the particular requisite resource according to thethreat level for the particular requisite resource.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: defining, byone or more processors, a threat level for the particular disparatecomponent; and adjusting, by one or more processors, features of thevirtual machine according to the threat level for the particulardisparate component.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the disparate components provide features that have beenpredefined as being functionally different from one another.
 10. Acomputer program product for controlling access to computer resourcesused by a computer application, the computer program product comprisinga non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program codeembodied therewith, the program code readable and executable by aprocessor to perform a method comprising: fractionating a computerapplication into disparate components; assigning two or more of thedisparate components to different communication pathways, wherein thedifferent communication pathways lead to requisite resources needed toexecute the disparate components; creating a virtual machine, whereinthe virtual machine controls access to a particular requisite resourceby a particular disparate component; installing the virtual machinewithin at least one of the different communication pathways to controlaccess to the particular requisite resource by the particular disparatecomponent; transmitting a resource retrieval instruction to retrieve theparticular requisite resource via the virtual machine and the at leastone of the different communication pathways; defining a threat level forthe particular requisite resource; and adjusting a quantity of virtualmachines between the computer application and the particular requisiteresource according to the threat level for the particular requisiteresource.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein themethod further comprises: retrieving the particular requisite resource;and using the particular requisite resource to execute the particulardisparate component.
 12. The computer program product of claim 10,wherein the method further comprises: setting an expiration time for thevirtual machine within the at least one of the different communicationpathways; and in response to the expiration time passing for the virtualmachine within the at least one of the different communication pathways,dematerializing the virtual machine, wherein dematerializing the virtualmachine disables the at least one of the different communicationpathways.
 13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein theparticular disparate component further comprises a command layerinstruction, and wherein the method further comprises: installingmultiple virtual machines in series within at least one of the differentcommunication pathways, wherein the multiple virtual machines comprise afirst virtual machine and a second virtual machine; assigning a firstaddress message to the first virtual machine, wherein the first addressmessage identifies only an address of the second virtual machine, andwherein the first address message instructs the first virtual machine tosend the resource retrieval instruction to the second virtual machine;assigning a second address message to the second virtual machine,wherein the second address message identifies only an address of theparticular requisite resource, and wherein the second address messageinstructs the second virtual machine to send the resource retrievalinstruction to the particular requisite resource; fractionating thecommand layer instruction into disparate command layer components;assigning a first disparate command layer component from the disparatecommand layer components to the first virtual machine; executing thefirst disparate command layer component to create a command virtualmachine; and controlling the first virtual machine via the commandvirtual machine.
 14. A computer system comprising: a processor, acomputer readable memory, and a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium; first program instructions to fractionate a computer applicationinto disparate components; second program instructions to assign two ormore of the disparate components to different communication pathways,wherein the different communication pathways lead to requisite resourcesneeded to execute the disparate components; third program instructionsto create a virtual machine, wherein the virtual machine controls accessto a particular requisite resource by a particular disparate component;fourth program instructions to install the virtual machine within atleast one of the different communication pathways to control access tothe particular requisite resource by the particular disparate component;fifth program instructions to transmit a resource retrieval instructionto retrieve the particular requisite resource via the virtual machineand the at least one of the different communication pathways; sixthprogram instructions to define a threat level for the particularrequisite resource; and seventh program instructions to adjust aquantity of virtual machines between the computer application and theparticular requisite resource according to the threat level for theparticular requisite resource; and wherein the first, second, third,fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh program instructions are stored on thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium for execution by one ormore processors via the computer readable memory.
 15. The computersystem of claim 14, further comprising: eighth program instructions toretrieve the particular requisite resource; and ninth programinstructions to use the particular requisite resource to execute theparticular disparate component; and wherein the eighth and ninth programinstructions are stored on the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium for execution by one or more processors via the computer readablememory.
 16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the particulardisparate component further comprises a command layer instruction, andwherein the computer system further comprises: eighth programinstructions to install multiple virtual machines in series within atleast one of the different communication pathways, wherein the multiplevirtual machines comprise a first virtual machine and a second virtualmachine; ninth program instructions to assign a first address message tothe first virtual machine, wherein the first address message identifiesonly an address of the second virtual machine, and wherein the firstaddress message instructs the first virtual machine to send the resourceretrieval instruction to the second virtual machine; tenth programinstructions to assign a second address message to the second virtualmachine, wherein the second address message identifies only an addressof the particular requisite resource, and wherein the second addressmessage instructs the second virtual machine to send the resourceretrieval instruction to the particular requisite resource; eleventhprogram instructions to fractionate the command layer instruction intodisparate command layer components; twelfth program instructions toassign a first disparate command layer component from the disparatecommand layer components to the first virtual machine; thirteenthprogram instructions to execute the first disparate command layercomponent to create a command virtual machine; and fourteenth programinstructions to control the first virtual machine via the commandvirtual machine; and wherein the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, andtwelfth program instructions are stored on the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium for execution by one or more processors via thecomputer readable memory.